Thomas Nast's Original "Civil
War Drummer Boy" Illustration

You are viewing an
incredible Civil War illustration by Thomas Nast. It is entitled "The
Drummer Boy of Our Regiment - Eight War Scenes". It is an original
leaf from an 1863 Harper's Weekly newspaper, and demonstrates Thomas Nast's
work as a War Illustrator. The work presents a variety of Civil War
scenes, associated with the life of a Civil War drummer boy.

During the Civil War, boys
as young as 7 or 8 were recruited into the army to serve as Drummer Boys.
These young men traveled with the army, and even marched into battle with
them. This incredible leaf shows images of the life of a Civil war Drummer
Boy.

The upper left inset image
shows the boy washing his face in the morning in a wooden bucket. The
upper center image is captioned, "The Favorite in Camp", and it presents a
touching image of the young boy sitting in a soldiers lap, listening to
stories of the war. Another soldier is pictured nearby reading a copy
of Harper's Weekly. The upper right image is captioned, "Our Daily
Bread", and shows the drummer boy enjoying a nice meal of warm bread and
coffee. The center left image is a touching picture of the small boy
leaving for war. He is crying, and his entire family is weeping and
obviously upset at his departure. A soldier is seen standing with his
hand out, to take the boy away. The boy has his drum on his back.

The lower left inset image
pictures the young boy writing a letter home, using his drum as a desk.
The lower center image shows the boy marching into battle, providing the
cadence on his drum for the soldiers march to. A look of bravery and
determination can be seen on the small boys face. The lower right
image shows the boy with a happy smile, reading a letter from home.

The most interesting image
shows the boy returning home from the war. The interesting thing is
that he left a little boy, and is returning a young man. His family
can be seen staring at him as if they do not even recognize him. The
grandmother is adjusting her glasses as if she can not believe that the
little boy has grown into a young man.

This is a classic Thomas
Nast illustration, and captures the life of a Civil War Drummer boy.

We created this
Thomas Nast Gallery to digitally preserve Nast's Civil War work for
posterity. We are now making the original, 140 year old leafs
available for a price of $250 each. The proceeds from the sale of the
material will enable us to continue to expand the material featured on our
site. Please contact paul@sonofthesouth.net
if you are interested in acquiring one of these original leafs.